Good Night Moon
by Nanaki BH
Summary: James x Tonio Sometimes dreams help us realize even our deepest, most hidden feelings. After a plan to steal Tonio's Pokémon goes awry, James has to confront Tonio and walks away with something more precious than a stolen Pokémon.


Disclaimer:_Pokémon_ and all related characters and materials are property of Game Freak and Nintendo.

Good Night Moon  
By: Nanaki BH

Night is the time when everything is asleep – or should be at least. While all others are fast asleep, some are awake, busying themselves about their work. Tonio was one such person who found himself so wrapped up in things to do that he hardly found the time for rest. His weary eyes would always be glued to his computer screen, decoding and interpreting the meanings of the data he would collect. Finally though, for the first time in ages, after a most strange series of events, he was granted a chance to sleep.

After painstakingly tracking abnormalities in the time-space continuum, the very Pokémon everyone had believed to bring nightmares had given him the time for some precious rest. After making himself some tea to ease his nerves, Tonio finally settled into bed, confident that the world did not need his watchful eye. As his eyes closed, he reflected on the new people he had met and the friends he had grown closer to. Always the nerd and the one in need of rescue, he felt a swell of pride at the fact that he had for once played something of a hero. While he drifted off to sleep, he hoped his dreams would be just as adventurous.

There were some others with different plans, though; others who still walked during the night to accomplish some purpose. Team Rocket took the cover of darkness as their guise to commit thievery. Unfortunately for James that night though, his other two fellow Rockets chose to use that time for some, quote, "well-deserved" rest. He begrudged them for it, yes, but decided to carry out their next mission on his own anyway without their help.

'Taking the weather into our own hands' was something along the lines of what they thought when they had agreed to steal Tonio's Drifblim. It was a relatively non-aggressive Pokémon with an extremely handy knack for predicting the weather. If their boss had a Pokémon like that, they were sure they would be promoted. Alone though, James hoped he could handle it himself.

It shouldn't be a problem, he theorized. If the Pokémon were in its pokéball, all he had to do was sneak in through the window and grab it while its trainer was asleep. It sounded like a pretty solid plan. Since the night was still young though, he took the possibility of error into account. What if the Pokémon _wasn't_ in its pokéball? Well, then he'd just have to detain it with his Carnivine. (He just hoped it would behave.) Or, what if Tonio were awake or woke up when he tried to enter? Well, in that case… He was still working on that. He just figured that he'd have to be extra quiet for this one.

He left Jessie and Meowth peacefully sleeping out in the forest and made his way back into the city. The streets were wide and many and although he was at first afraid he would become lost, he praised his sense of direction when at last he came upon his destination.

The scientist's house was much neater than his work. James stood outside and admired it for a little, feeling somewhat intimidated at first by its size. He liked the fence outside. He did not, however, like climbing over it. Even worse was climbing over it and falling, just to realize it had actually been unlocked anyway. He cursed the irony, rubbing his injured head as he made his way around to the side of the house. It wasn't far up to the window where he supposed his bedroom must be. After hoisting himself up in various ways and almost falling twice, he made it safely up to the small balcony. He tested the handle of the window cautiously and was pleasantly surprised to find it open.

James slid open the windows with little difficulty and pushed open the drapes. He peered inside, eyes searching for the object which he had come for. There on the desk in the middle of the far wall were four pokéballs. One of them, he assumed, had to be the Drifblim he had come for. As easy as it first seemed to simply cross the gap and retrieve it, he knew that he would run the risk of possibly waking Tonio. He glanced over to his bed where he lay peacefully dreaming and blissfully unaware of his presence. For some reason, he felt worse if he'd wake him than about stealing his Pokémon. Unlike the twerps, Tonio wasn't really any sort of threat to James.

That thought in mind, James' decision felt a little easier to make. So, mustering up some hidden courage, he placed one foot as quietly as he could inside the room. _"Way to go, James ol' boy! Only about 1/20__th__ of the way there!"_ Over-thinking his next step though, his other foot caught on the sill and he went crashing face-first into the room.

Almost immediately, Tonio awoke with a startled gasp. He started up in bed so that he could identify his intruder. When he looked up, nobody was there. Then he looked down to the floor where he discovered James, cradling his injured foot in his hands. Realizing that he had been found out, James looked up like a deer in the headlights might, knowing instantly that he'd ruined everything.

"Y-You're from Team Rocket," Tonio stammered. As if his burglar act weren't proof enough, his attire was a dead give away.

_"What do I do? Do I just run over there and get it?"_ James temporarily ignored Tonio, whose shock was quickly turning anger, and decided to just carry out the mission regardless of how messy it had become. He jumped to his feet and, barely taking a step, he found himself once again falling to the floor. _"I must've hit it harder than I thought..."_ Pain blossomed through his foot, making him hiss sharply.

Tonio crawled to the edge of his bed and looked down at him. "Are you... all right?" he asked. He was aware that James wasn't there for some polite talk or something but he just looked so pitiful to him, sitting there. James looked right back, feeling just as pitiful as he knew he must have looked. He hated admitting it, but he knew he wasn't made for this kind of business. He felt something well up in him as he looked at Tonio. Was it fear? Guilt? Surprise? He wasn't sure but he knew that he'd screwed up.

"Yeah," he replied shakily, trying to stand up again. "I'm okay." Tonio grabbed him under his arm and hoisted him up, helping him sit on the bed with him. James looked away embarrassedly, ashamed that the man he was supposed to be robbing was showing him sympathy. He was glad it was mostly dark in Tonio's room, else he would see the red which had begun to color his cheeks. He wasn't sure what to say to him. He might have said _something_ but Tonio decided to speak first.

"So... are you here to steal my Pokémon?"

James looked up instantly, feeling utterly red-handed. "N-no, I..." He looked away. "Yes."

Tonio shifted uncomfortably for a moment, still somewhat unsure of his strange visitor. "I suppose I can't really blame you if it's your job but... I can't just let you take my Pokémon."

James feared hearing another "I love my Pokémon because we're partners and best friends" speech so he stood up shakily. "That's fine," he said, "I'll just have to steal them some other time. I'd just prefer... not to use force..." _"That I don't have."_

"Hey, hang on!" Tonio reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could move to leave. "Isn't there... something else I could just give you instead?"

_"Instead?"_ James' mind raced to think of what could possibly be equal in value but found himself only able to focus on Tonio's moonlit face. Paying him more attention then, he realized he wasn't wearing the glasses he normally had. Although usually he exuded a kind of nerdy charm, without his glasses he almost seemed... handsome.

_"I'm so glad it's dark,"_ he thought again.

After a moment the two shared of just staring at each other, Tonio looked away with a nervous laugh. "Sorry," he apologized quietly. "I was just... I just remembered the dream I was having before..."_"Before I fell through your window?"_ "Uh... Before it was interrupted."

"Oh yeah?" At this late hour, James didn't necessarily mind the thought of cookies and a bedtime story so he settled to listen to what Tonio's dream had been about. "I'm listening."

With the aid of the moonlight, James could just barely make out a blush forming on Tonio's face. He looked nervous, like he didn't really want to finish now that he'd started. What could be so bad about it? It was just a dream, right? James couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to talk about it if it were only that.

"Well, you see..." Tonio sat back and pulled his sheets into his lap, his fingers curling in the soft white. "It's a funny thing you decided to drop in right then like you had. I was having a strangely similar dream. See, in my dream, I was at my desk alone. It was nighttime. I think I may have fallen asleep on my desk while I was working and when I awoke in my dream, there was somebody there. Normally it would be scary for someone to just appear like that, but in my dream I just had the feeling that he wasn't there to hurt me. He seemed kind. The man got closer to me and," he faltered and glanced up, "he got so close to me that I thought he would..."

"Would what?" James asked with naïve innocence. He crawled onto the bed on hand and knee and leaned closer curiously.

"He um..."

James leaned closer still.

Tonio finally leaned in against him, his hands on his chest and pressed their lips together. Needless to say, it was impulsive and was based only on something he had seen in a dream. It wasn't like it was meant to happen. It wasn't even like the man in the dream was James. Yet something told Tonio that he should. Almost immediately, the two separated, gasping and feeling awkward.

"S-sorry," he stuttered.

"No," James said, getting back on his wobbly legs. "I think that works instead."

Tonio looked confused.

"Instead of your Pokémon. I think that works well enough instead." He climbed out of the open window and stood upon the cramped balcony. Turning around, he poked his head in one last time. "But now I may come back anyway." With that, he shut the window, the drapes fluttered closed, and he was gone.

Tonio touched his fingertips to his lips and felt the tingle still there and the shiver that worked its way up his spine, the only evidence that James had been there at all.

Author's Notes: Oh man. I bet you're thinking to yourself, "That was one mighty strange pairing." I know, I know, but that's okay because that just means it's _unique._ Haha, really it started more as just a joke and then turned into something serious. In the end, I think it came out as a pretty decent fic, considering. Hopefully you enjoyed reading!


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